Easy Choice
by NCISgirl1527
Summary: Neil was going to fight her for custody of Katie using every tactic he could. Including making her choose between her boyfriend and her job. It was not an easy choice but it was a simple one. Jamie thinks over what is going on at the end of Tabloid.


_**I was watching Law and Order yesterday morning (I really love TNT's weekend morning marathons) and I was inspired by what was going on with Jamie her custody battle and whatever. So this is her thoughts on what is going on…Anyway I hope you enjoy it.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Jamie, Jack, or any other part of Law and Order**_

_**Spoilers: Tabloid**_

"Jamie Ross?" a young man asked sticking his head into the office.

"Yes," Jamie replied a little wearily. Today had been a very long day, and the case had ended with an outcome that she did not particularly like. "What do you need?" she asked suddenly realizing that the other person was still standing there.

"I was supposed to give this to you," he said hesitantly moving as if to step into the office but not actually crossing the threshold until Jamie gestured for him to do so. She could tell just from his hesitant motions that he was new and afraid of overstepping some unseen line.

"Thanks," Jamie replied a little sarcastically taking the blue envelope from him. The young man paused for a moment as if waiting to see if he was allowed to leave, and Jamie realized that the sarcasm probably wasn't necessary. It was not his fault that he had to be the bearer of bad news. She took a breath, and when she spoke again her tone was calmer and more polite. "Thank you," she told him, "you can go now." The man nodded quickly and all but scampered from the room.

His actions might have been funny if she was not so distracted, but it was hard to find anything funny while holding another of those stupid blue envelopes. Actually she had been receiving blue envelopes for years, and they had not particularly bothered her. They only bothered her now because she knew that they were not about suppressing papers or a confession in a case she was trying. Instead they were about her personal life and the custody battle for Katie…

She thought back to the conversation she and Jack had had earlier that day. She had told him about what was Neil was doing in an attempt to win custody. He had commented that she might well have to choose between David and the job and said it was an easy choice. She had agreed, but in truth she was not sure if it was an easy choice or not. She knew which one she would choose if she had to, but she wished she did not have to make the decision at all.

She loved David, and she loved her job at the DA's office. She did not want to have to give one up… Still the most important thing in her life was her daughter. She would do anything and everything to keep custody of Katie. To do that she had to chose between the job and the guy… In that competition, David would win every time. She loved him. He loved her, and he was good to Katie. She could not ask for more, and she could not choose the job over him.

Jack had known that and was okay with, or had at least accepted, that decision. Jamie could not begin to express how grateful she was to Jack for his actions over the past few weeks. He had listened to occasional ranting, but he had also picked up work that was technically her job not his. Like with the Abbott Case, he had done a lot of the prep work for the trial, which was supposed to be her job, because she needed to be in court. She had also appreciated his instructions to wipe the floor with Neil. It was always nice to know that there was someone else on her side.

Perhaps it was the thought that she would be abandoning Jack that was really bothering her as opposed to the thought of leaving the DA's office. After all, she liked the job, but at the end of the day it was just a job. She still believed in monsters and things that went bump in the night, and she still believed that they deserved to rot in hell with their attorneys. However she did not define herself by the job. She could walk away if that was what was best for her daughter and herself.

Jamie shook her head. Why was she thinking about all this as if it was a hypothetical situation? This was a choice that she was probably going to have to make in the next six months if not sooner. Heck, if Neil got his way she would have to make the choice tomorrow.

She sighed. No matter when she had to make the choice she knew what she would say. That would take Neil a while to get over. After all, most of his argument for why he should get custody was based on the fact that she did not get to spend much time with Katie. There was no way he could get away with that argument if Jamie quit her job to find one that gave her more time at home.

Granted because he was a lawyer himself, Neil and his attorney probably had a back up plan. Still Jamie was pretty sure, both from what she knew about her ex-husband and from the way he had been acting during their meetings, that Neil did not expect her to make a decision. That just went to show how much Neil did not know about her even after they had known each other for so many years.

In a way Jack, who had known her less than two years, knew her better than her ex-husband did. Jack knew that Jamie would make the choice Neil did not even consider her to be able to make. Still Jack had been wrong when he had said the choice was an easy one.

It was a simple choice. Katie was more important than anything else. If Jamie's job in the DA's office was going to pose a threat, then the job was going to have to go. There was no question about that. It was simple.

However that did not make it an easy choice. It would not be easy to walk away from her friends at the DA's office, but she would do it.

So in reality, it was simple choice… not easy an easy one.

_**So what did you think? It is my first Jamie story so please review and tell me what you though.**_


End file.
